Mrs. Roundell's Practical cookery book

To Eg’g’ and Breadcrumb. — The process is slightly different with cutlets, fillets, etc., of meat, and with fish, but plenty of good stale crumbs which have been pounded and rubbed through a stiff wire sieve are always wanted. Beat two eggs, white and yolk, well together in a soup-plate with one dessertspoonful of salad oil and one of water, or two dessertspoonfuls of milk. The eggs must be beaten till they cease to be at all stringy. Have ready plenty of crumbs laid in a roomy but shallow dish. Dip the cutlet into the egg, and turn it about till every part is thoroughly and evenly coated. Do this quickly, or the cutlet will get soft. Now turn the cutlet over and over in the dry breadcrumbs. Lay it aside for half an hour, then dip it again in the egg and again coat it with the crumbs. This method is infinitely better than coating the cutlet only once, for in that case the coating is apt to be uneven and too thick. After the egg and breadcrumb have been properly applied, the cutlets should be fried a pale golden brown in plenty of hot suet, and carefully drained on blotting paper before serving. If cutlets are taken from the marinade, drain them a moment and wipe them dry before dipping them into the egg. In many cases it is a great improvement to sprinkle finely-powdered and dried herbs, or finely-minced parsley, among the crumbs. Grated cheese can be used in the same way. For Fish , see that the fish is quite dry. Then, with a brush TO EGG AND BREADCRUMB *59 varnish the fish all over with the egg. If a little flour is shaken over the fish the egg will adhere better. Have the crumbs ready in a napkin and turn the fish over and over in them. Set it aside for half an hour, then varnish it again, and this time coat it with yellowish-brown raspings of crust very finely sifted. To coat fish with flour or oatmeal, dip the fish in milk, and then turn it over in a napkin containing the flour or oatmeal well dried and sifted. A brush can be used for the egg with cutlets as with fish, but it must be a very small one, such as is sold with bottles of gum. Larding1. — French chefs make much more use of Larding than we do, for the process adds flavour to the tasteless foreign meat and poultry. In England Larding is only required for insipid meat like Yeal, and for dry poultry, such as guinea- fowl. Hares are often the better for Larding. Bacon for larding must be white, dry, and firm, and the Larding should be done in as cold a place as possible. Lard- ing-needles, which are slit tubes ending in a sharp point, are sold of different sizes. In general it does not matter about the thickness of the lardoons, as the strips of bacon are called, but it is necessary that all should be equal. The length of a lardoon should be from an inch and half to three inches. Cut with a sharp knife three or four equally- sized slices of bacon the length which the lardoons are to be, lay them one on the other, cut them into even strips lengthwise, and divide these strips again into lardoons to fit the larding-needle. If they are too large or too small for the split end of the needle Larding cannot be properly done. To lard a fricandeau hold the meat in a cloth firmly in your left hand, and with the right hand pass the point of the threaded needle into the meat half an inch deep.